It’s Not Too Late for Tax-Loss Harvesting. Here’s How
Investors can still find stocks and funds with unrealized losses, despite a generally bullish market in 2025.
This article mentions funds that have an issuer-initiated rating and/or track a Morningstar Index. For full disclosure information, please refer to the specific funds, which are demarcated with a * symbol, listed below.
Despite a couple of rockier periods in April and November, the markets have been kind to investors almost across the board in 2025. The Morningstar US Market Index gained nearly 17% for the year to date through Nov. 26, 2025, and broad bond market indexes generated positive returns. Most other major asset classes were also in positive territory: Only a handful of US fund categories (including consumer defensive, real estate, and digital assets) have landed in the red over the past 12 months.
As a result, opportunities for tax-loss harvesting (the process of selling holdings with unrealized capital losses to offset realized capital gains from other holdings) can be tough to find. But investors who haven’t already harvested previous losses can still find some opportunities, particularly among individual stocks.
In this article, I’ll highlight some of the most widely held stocks and funds that have declined in price over the past several years. I’ll also give some practical guidance for selling securities to realize losses.
Is Tax-Loss Harvesting Really Worth It?
Admittedly, the benefits of tax-loss selling can be overhyped. As Michael Kitces points out, an investor who sells a security in a taxable account and replaces it with another one is simply trading in current taxes for future taxes, because the cost basis on the new holding is lower. But there can be some value in deferring taxes in certain situations. For example, some investors might qualify for the 0% capital gains tax bracket in the period after retirement but before required minimum distributions kick in, making that a more opportune time to realize gains on the replacement holdings.
Stock Ideas for Tax-Loss Harvesting
Opportunities for harvesting losses on individual stocks are less prevalent than they were a couple of years ago, but they can still be found. Roughly 40% of the 1,000 biggest US-traded stocks in Morningstar’s database have suffered price declines over the trailing one-year period, and about 20% of the largest stocks have posted losses over the trailing three-year period. The table below shows some of the most widely held stocks that might be good candidates for tax-loss selling. (Note: Investors will need to check their account statements and cost basis as shown on the brokerage platform’s website to confirm declines for any specific positions; they should also make sure they’ve owned the security for at least one year if they intend to realize long-term losses.)
15 Stocks That Might Offer Tax Losses
Tax-Loss Harvesting Isn’t Just for Downturns. Here’s Why
Fund Ideas for Tax-Loss Harvesting
Tax losses are in shorter supply on the fund side. As mentioned above, only a few fund categories have posted negative returns over the trailing 12 months. However, many long-term government-bond funds currently remain in the red for the trailing five-year period. IShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT, for example, posted nearly an 8% annualized loss over the trailing five-year period through Nov. 26, 2025.
Some funds focusing on small- to mid-cap stocks, including WCM SMID Quality Value WCMJX and Neuberger Berman Genesis NBGEX, and Eaton Vance Atlanta Capital SMID Cap EAASX, have generated decent-sized losses over the past 12 months. A few more speculative funds, including ARK Innovation ETF ARKK and KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF KWEB, have generated strong gains over the past year but are still sitting on losses for the trailing five-year period.
The table below shows some of the largest funds that have accumulated losses over the trailing one- and/or five-year periods, but smaller offerings in the same categories might also be candidates for tax-loss selling.
15 Funds That Might Offer Tax Losses
Tax-Loss Harvesting Reminders
There are a few things to keep in mind when selling securities to take advantage of losses in a taxable account. To avoid running afoul of wash-sale rules, make sure to avoid selling securities at a loss and then buying substantially identical securities within 30 days either before or after the sale.
The IRS has not published guidance as to exactly what qualifies as “substantially identical,” but it’s probably safest to replace fund holdings with a vehicle that tracks a different index. For example, an investor selling Vanguard 500 Index VFIAX, which tracks the S&P 500, could replace it with Vanguard Total Stock Market Index
VTSAX
It’s also important to maintain good records. Before selling a stock, investors will need to identify specific lots with the highest cost basis. For funds, it’s best to use the specific share identification method, which you can select in your brokerage platform’s account options. (The default method is usually average cost, which doesn’t optimize tax losses.)
Finally, use tax losses strategically. Investors can use harvested tax losses to offset any realized gains or up to $3,000 in ordinary income for the current tax year but can also carry them forward indefinitely to offset future capital gains.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article was previously published Dec. 3, 2024.
The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.
United States